Chapter 44

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 44

Chapter Title: The Empress Demands Spoilers

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Over the past few days, swept up in a raging storm of embarrassment, I hadn't even been able to properly look at the Duke's face as we pressed on with our journey.

Time flowed on relentlessly regardless, and soon enough, our group had arrived at the imperial capital.

"Your Grace, welcome to the imperial palace."

"Thank you for your service."

Once the identity check at the gates was complete, the carriage—which had paused briefly—began to move slowly again.

Even with the Brail Ducal House crest emblazoned on the carriage, they still subjected us to inspection.

Already intimidated by the stringent security, I clutched my increasingly throbbing head.

Passing through the vast outer palace and into the inner palace. The carriage, plodding along at a leisurely pace, came to a stop not long after.

"Th-this place is..."

"Shh! Mind your words and actions."

The artists—who had only glimpsed mid-level nobles from afar and never dreamed of setting foot inside the imperial palace—stirred in agitation.

Even the three veterans, with their modicum of experience(?), had shed their usual relaxed and kindly air, standing rigidly at attention.

...Of course, I was no different.

'To think I've ended up here of all places.'

The Duke walking beside me had an inscrutable expression as he strolled along calmly, but my hands and feet were trembling uncontrollably.

Moreover, the place we'd arrived at wasn't some dedicated audience chamber—it was the Empress's Palace, deep in the heart of the imperial palace...?

'Something's up.'

My intuition was screaming it.

So, was the Empress herself the one who'd invited us?

As if answering my question, a maid who appeared to hold a fairly high position in the Empress's Palace guided us with polite deference.

"From here on, only those involved in creating the comic are permitted to enter."

"I see."

It was a clear dismissal of the guests, but the Duke simply nodded without a hint of agitation.

"It seems my accompaniment ends here. Well then."

"Um..."

How could he just turn his back like that!

With the Duke—who had felt like solid backing(?—turning away, my anxiety mounted, but it was the Empress's command, so there was nothing to be done.

In the end, the artists and I, scared out of our wits, could only shuffle hesitantly after the attendants into the audience chamber.

Soon.

"Her Imperial Majesty the Empress."

With the attendant's announcement, a woman in resplendent dress made her entrance.

It was Empress Oriana Kletan, her vibrant golden hair piled high atop her head.

As I bowed my head in greeting, I briefly recalled the information I'd read about her back when I worked in the Salt Kingdom's castle.

In her youth, a queen of high society; later, a woman who had eliminated countless political rivals to secure the crown princely title for her son, Raiden Kletan... a cold and ruthless figure.

"Are you the artists who drew Safety Rules of the Haunted Duke's Castle?"

After nobly surveying the room once, she walked right up to me and came to a halt.

"Y-Yes, Your Imperial Majesty."

Ashley, the lead producer on Haunted Duke's Castle, answered, but the Empress merely frowned slightly and gazed down at us with an enigmatic expression, offering no reply.

In that silence, I grew ever more anxious. Surely there wasn't something wrong with the comic's content...?

As I fidgeted with my numb, icy fingertips, waiting for her to speak first—

"You must have had a hard journey here."

A brilliant smile bloomed across the Empress's doll-like face, which had betrayed no emotion.

At the same moment, the heavy atmosphere blanketing the audience chamber shifted into an entirely new phase.

'Huh? What, what's going on?'

Even though it was our first meeting, I could plainly feel her strong fondness toward us radiating from that smile.

"You must be weary from the road, so let's discuss the details over dinner."

No sooner had she spoken than the attendants and maids standing nearby approached and bowed politely.

"We'll guide you."

Come to think of it, it was already nearly evening.

Ignoring the nagging unease in my gut, I slowly followed behind the Empress, who seemed unusually excited.

Contrary to my worries, the slightly early dinner got off to a smooth start.

Far from it, upon hearing that the artists had postponed deadlines just to come meet her, the Empress even instructed the head attendant to receive them with even greater lavishness, as if apologetic.

Exotic delicacies rare even in the Brail Ducal residence emerged endlessly.

It should have been a mouthwatering spectacle, yet I couldn't enjoy the meal with an easy heart.

On the contrary, it felt uncomfortable, like something was lodged in my throat.

"So... what do you think, Lady?"

The Empress's prompting voice reached me.

Like me, she showed no interest whatsoever in the food.

How had things spiraled into this?

I felt the Duke's absence more keenly than ever.

"Th-that would be rather difficult..."

Mustering courage from the depths of my dantian, I barely managed to squeeze out my refusal.

But why was I digging in my heels like this?

The reason was...

'Who in the world asks the original author to spoil the ending!'

The proposal she'd made the moment we sat down was incredibly awkward.

Of course, she'd started subtly, prefacing it with impressions and praise for the comic... but her true colors showed quickly.

"I want to know the ending."

"Pardon?"

"I'm utterly exhausted from waiting for uncertain new volumes. So, for the sake of my peace of mind, you must tell me the ending."

At odds with the content, her demeanor was impeccably aristocratic.

Was she throwing a tantrum with the utmost imperial elegance...?

'But I'm (officially) just a collateral daughter of the ducal house, while she's the Empress of Kletan—like the heavens themselves.'

It was a mismatch from the outset.

Moreover, her son was Raiden, portrayed in the original work as a blood-and-tears-free lunatic, and I had no desire to commit the blunder of saddening the lunatic's mother.

Absolutely not!!

"Even after I ask so earnestly, are you still hesitating?"

At last, a rigid voice slipped from her refined lips.

A veiled threat: do not displease me further.

'This is driving me mad.'

Honestly, if I just blurted out the ending right then, things would ease up, but I simply couldn't bring myself to do it.

No, I didn't want to.

"No, it's not hesitation... I cannot accept Your Imperial Majesty's proposal."

Keuk, cough...

A heavy silence descended, accompanied by a cough from somewhere.

"...What?"

Evidently caught off guard herself, the Empress's questioning voice carried a faint tremor.

"What did you just say, Lady?"

"What I mean is..."

Hoo.

After a deep inward breath, I began my explanation in a stiff tone.

"I'm telling you I cannot accept it because the ending hasn't been decided yet."

"Cough, cough!"

This time, explosive coughs erupted from the three veterans.

From their perspective—knowing the ending was already fully locked in—they couldn't fathom why I was taking this stance before the Empress. But...

'Spoiling the ending would ruin half the comic's appeal.'

As a diehard reader who'd devoured countless comics in my homebody days, that was utterly unacceptable.

It wasn't merely a matter of it becoming less fun.

The thrill of flipping each page in eager anticipation, the excitement of awaiting the next volume.

It was tantamount to forfeiting the entire experience.

"No ending?"

Every story must have an end.

Evidently deeming it an absurd excuse, one of the Empress's eyebrows arched sharply.

In the razor-thin atmosphere, I voiced my prepared response.

"The Ghost Duke and his bride are vivid, living characters within me. I am merely a conduit, writing down the tales I hear directly from them."

"......"

"Just as no person can foresee their own future, nor can they. Thus, the ending remains undecided as well."

I'd acted it out to the hilt, channeling a fourth-dimensional artist lost in their own world... Had it worked?

The only thing that could defy immense power was a concept that transcended it.

Just like when I'd been kidnapped by the Duke of Brail at the start—I'd clung to the slave concept and somehow weathered the crisis.

"Hmm..."

The Empress's expression grew subtly enigmatic as she regarded me quietly.